Bengals Remain Hopeful on Dalton, Preparing to Start McCarron

The cruel, merciless football gods may ultimately be the ones to prevent Cincinnati Bengals starting quarterback Andy Dalton from proving his critics wrong this postseason.

While Dalton has been the face of the Bengals’ one-and-done playoff performances in recent seasons, it seems unlikely that he will take the field to face the rival Pittsburgh Steelers in Saturday night’s Wild Card blockbuster.

As of Tuesday, the cast on Dalton’s right thumb has been removed, but his playing status remains undecided. Head coach Marvin Lewis did not sound optimistic, telling reporters, “right now we’re going into at least the early part of the week preparing with A.J. [McCarron].” Dalton suffered the injury in week 14 against the Steelers upon attempting an ill-advised low tackle on Pittsburgh DE Stephon Tuitt after throwing an interception.

In that game, McCarron received his first taste of regular season NFL action. He played admirably in the defeat, racking up almost 300 yards as well as two touchdowns through the air against Pittsburgh’s porous secondary, but his two interceptions ultimately killed Cincy’s offense.

Since that day, though, McCarron has thrown four touchdowns and zero picks, though he did lose a fumble on the last play of overtime against the Denver Broncos. Had the Bengals won, that game would have propelled them to a first-round bye and a much more hopeful outlook on their quarterback situation heading into the divisional round.

Pittsburgh, meanwhile, remains on a day-to-day schedule regarding the sprained ankle of DeAngelo Williams. If Williams can’t suit up by Saturday, the Steelers will be down to their third- and fourth-string running backs, and will be entering their second consecutive postseason with a depleted backfield.

The rubber match will split the 1-1 series tie between the two bitter rivals, and it is expected to be one of the most hard-hitting, uncompromising clashes in years. By the end of this one, Dalton and Williams won’t be the only injured players from each team, that’s for sure.